How to make a World Cup pizza

Lots of people have asked me about my pizza recipe so I decided to share it with you via my blog. I made a pizza last night in England colours for the world cup but you might decide to make it with different toppings and you may not call it a world cup pizza you don't have to.

First get your ingredients ready, these quantities are enough for two people you might want to make more or less:

225 grams/ 8oz plain flour

1 sachet of quick yeast

A shake of salt (however much you like)

25 ml/1 fluid oz olive oil

145 ml/6 fluid oz warm water

pepper

red pesto or tomato paste

mozzarella cheese or other cheese if you prefer

cherry tomatoes or a tomato cut into chunks

Little jarred peppers or other toppings to your taste.

Measure out your ingredients

Mix the flour, yeast and water and a little salt in a mixing bowl, add the oil and water and mix together into a firm dough using a large spoon.

Now here is the really fun bit, kneed the dough by hand for 4 or 5 minutes, you can squeeze it, slap it around, do whatever you like with it. Don't over work it though or it gets tough, however much fun it is leave off after 4 to 5 minutes.

Divide the dough up into however many pizzas you are making and start to flatten it out, when its a bit flat but not to flat to pick up (like mine here) spread a little olive oil on flat baking trays to preven the pizza from sticking and then put the dough sections onto them. Then spread it out with your hands until it is thin enough to form a pizza base. You do not need a round tray you can make the base round in any tray or you might like to try other exciting shapes.

Make the pizza a little larger and thinner than you want it as it will rise and be a little smaller and thicker than you make it on the tray. Leave the pizza bases to stand for approximately 1 hour, if it is warm you can leave them out in the kitchen, otherwise a very low heated oven can be used by not hot enough to cook it. If you have an airing cupboard that is ideal. Heat up the oven ready for cooking, gas mark
7, electricity 220 degrees Celsius, 425 Fahrenheit, slightly cooler if you have a fan oven.

While the pizza bases are resting you can prepare your topping, you can have whatever topping is your favourite, I use sundried tomato pesto as a sauce but you may prefer a tomato sauce it is up to you. My topping is usually mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, I like the little cherry tomatoes and those nice spicey red peppers you get in a jar but you will make your own choices. You can't see my mozzarella on the white plate but it is there.

Spread the pesto or tomato sauce thinly on the base and add the toppings. You can always make an image such as a flag of St George if you are an England football fan, good luck if you want to do the whole stars and stripes that sounds challenging and I don't know what you would use for the blue bits but I'll leave that up to you.

Once your pizza looks as you want it to it is ready for the oven. Cook for 14 minutes turing the pizzas half way through to ensure they are evenly cooked.

When it is cooked serve on a warm plate, you can slice it and share or do inidvidual ones or each of you. You may want a side salad or your human may want a glass or wine or beer. Enjoy!